Smoking in Kuwait
In Kuwait, tobacco smoking continues to present significant public health challenges. As of 2024, the prevalence of tobacco smoking among adults aged 15 years and older was 24.5%, with a notable gender disparity: 37.3% of males and 2.4% of females in the country were smokers. This represents a slight increase from 2020 when smoking prevalence among males and females were 33.9% and 2.3%, respectively. The total number of smokers as of 2024 was 966,000 compared to 736,502 in 2020, which indicates a growing trend. For reference, the adult daily tobacco smoking prevalence in 2022 was 37.3% with 58.9% among males and 15.1% among females. Smoking-related mortality remains a concern in Kuwait.12.83% of all deaths in the country in 2021 was attributed to tobacco smoking, including 16.11% of male deaths and 4.25% of female deaths. Also, tobacco led to 1,549 deaths in 2021. These figures underscore the ongoing public health implications of tobacco smoking in Kuwait and highlight the need for continued regulatory measures to mitigate its rising prevalence and consequential health impacts.
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July 29, 2023 by kuwaittimes.com
Easy access to vaping blamed for high smoking rates in Kuwait
According to the latest statistics of the Central Statistical Bureau in June 2023, prices of cigarettes and tobacco increased by 0.37 percent. Despite the hike, the smoking rate in Kuwait keeps on increasing, whether with regular cigarettes or alternatives. In 2021, Kuwait ranked first in the Gulf in smoking, as 39.9 percent of men and 3 percent of women in the country are smokers, according to the head of the healthy cities’ office at the health ministry Dr Amal Al-Yahya, indicating the latest statistics by the health ministry showed the annual cost of smoking in Kuwait reached KD 481 million.